Funnshus is a webshop that is a melting pot for great Nordic design, with all the products that are featured having one thing in common – they have a real story to tell, with a wealth of craftsmanship and tradition engrained in the production process. Funnshus founder Dunya Steyns caught up with Nordic Vibes recently to share her story.
Funnshus is based in Den Haag and delivers design products to your doorstep without you even having to leave your sofa. The website was launched earlier this year and is a successful venture that came about through an initial obsession with Iceland, sparked by a children’s TV programme Nonni & Manni. Enchanted by this mystic landscape, years later – and after numerous jaunts to other Scandinavian lands – Steynes’ fascination is still there with a search for Nordic creativity at the heart of all her expeditions.
The name Funnshus actually comes from the Norwegian word for community centre: samfunnshus. A place to come together where honest and real products can be found is what Funnshus stands for. The design products are mainly Icelandic in origin but the webshop also carries products from Denmark, Sweden and Finland.
Contemporary design embracing craftsmanship
All the products that are for sale via the website have a story to tell, tinged with a sense of nostalgia and folklore. Steynes has hand-picked all of them, only once she has discovered the individual product’s history, having travelled to far-flung Nordic locations to meet the makers. Many products are handmade, often following traditional methods, using production processes that consider the impact on the environment.
Another really great thing about this venture is knowing that you can discover more about the much-loved products by just visiting the Funnshus blog. We can feel like we are taking part in the initial journey to discover these products and uncover more about how they come to be in the first place. For instance, we can take a trip to the Reykjavik Letterpress studio (here) to see exactly how the birthday cards came about; or we can get an insight into how the Healing Hands Scarf is created in the Vík Prjónsdóttir studio in Iceland (here). Here’s looking forward to lots more Nordic design discoveries in the future!
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